But to Magic fans who have suffered through misery and malaise for the last half-dozen years and endured more losses than any fan base in the NBA, the trade for Fultz several days ago has kick-started the most glorious week they have had in years. Fultz, the former No. 1 overall pick, drew a laugh from the gathering of Magic media at his introductory news conference Thursday when he pointed out the team’s record since Philly dealt him to Orlando just before the NBA trade deadline a week ago.

“I think already the team is 4-0 (5-0 after Thursday night’s 127-89 thrashing of the Charlotte Hornets) since I got traded here,” Fultz said Thursday morning with a smile splashed across his face. “They are headed in the right direction. I feel like it is just the energy going through [the team]. I’m just so happy. I’m so excited for the team. I think it is going to be fun. These guys are amazing. I feel like I’m at home already. I just can’t wait.”

Neither can we, Markelle.

Or do you mind if we call you Hope?

It was Emily Dickinson who once wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul. And sings the tune without the words. And never stops at all.”

Translation: Hope is not an entity; it’s an energy. It’s not tangible or definable; it’s a spirit and an aura; it’s the innate ability to see a light at the end of the tunnel without the fear that it is an oncoming train.

Since Fultz was acquired a week ago, Magic fans and Magic management have more hope than they’ve had since the organizational Dwightmare wrecked the franchise seven years ago.

After the Magic shattered their 13-game losing streak to Charlotte Thursday night with a 127-89 demolition of the Hornets going into the all-star break, they are riding a five-game winning streak for the first time in three seasons. Heading into Thursday’s game, they had won three consecutive road games by at least 16 points for the first time in team history. They thrashed East-leading Milwaukee by 20, thumped Atlanta by 16 and destroyed New Orleans 118-88 — the first time in a decade they have gone on the road and won a game by 30 or more points.

Veteran leader Aaron Gordon says the Magic are undergoing a “paradigm shift.” Emerging second-year forward Jonathan Isaac describes the feeling within the team as a “surging energy running through the guys. ”

That energy and synergy, Jonathan, is called Hope.

• Hope that new coach Steve Clifford can do what he did at his last coaching stop when he inherited an abysmal Charlotte franchise that went 21-61 the year before he arrived and he somehow, someway guided the team to the playoffs in his first season.

• Hope that this group of players is finally starting to buy into the wisdom and the sage teachings of Coach Cliff — a basketball lifer who seems to have that unique ability to not only demand excellence and effort from his players but to also relate to them on a personal level. To hear his players and former players tell it, Cliff has a knack of being able to kick ’em in the ass and pat ’em on the back at the same time.

• Hope that Fultz gets healthy, successfully rehabs his injured shoulder and becomes the star point guard the 76ers thought he would become when they traded up during the 2017 draft just so they could take him No. 1 overall.

If Fultz does fully recover from the rare nerve condition in his shoulder known as Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, the Magic may have pulled off the biggest heist since the theft of the Mona Lisa. If he doesn’t, the Magic have acquired a much more pedestrian piece of artwork: “Dogs Playing Poker.”

But we’re not going to think about what happens if Fultz fizzles and becomes the Magic’s worst trade since Steve Francis, Gilbert Arenas or Doug Christie. No, no, no. Today is a day when we dream of Fultz becoming the most lauded Magic deal since Pat Williams swapped Chris Webber for Penny Hardaway on draft night in 1993.

On this Valentine’s Day Thursday when Fultz was introduced to a fan base that is looking for a reason — any reason — to fall in love again with its team, we will think only positive thoughts. We will not tear down Markelle Fultz; we will build him up.

We will adhere to the eloquent words of the great George Eliot, who once wrote: “I like not only to be loved, but also to be told I am loved.”